1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus used with a raised floor system for providing a supporting structure for a cable management system and more particularly to a cable support apparatus which can be installed on a support pedestal of the raised floor system to provide structural support for the cable management system.
2. Description of Related Art
Raised floor systems have been developed to provide the additional utility space needed in various different conduit or cable intensive environments where the original construction did not provide adequate means of accommodating the vast amount of conduit or cable. For example, probably the most common environment requiring vast amounts of additional protected space is for large computing systems. Such installations were typically made in facilities which simply were not designed to accommodate the vast amount of cable runs required to operate the typical large computer system. Other applications where additional utility space is required include mechanical systems, e.g., heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.
A common problem experienced in utilizing raised floor systems is maintaining organization of the various cables, conduits, pipes, etc. which are routed beneath the floor system. One solution to this problem is to provide a cable tray system, cable management system, or cable pathway system beneath the floor panels of the raised floor to contain and direct cables along their respective pathways. An example of such a cable tray system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,095 which issued on Jun. 24, 1986 to Chalfant (the “'095 Chalfant Patent”). The '095 Chalfant Patent features a modular cable tray assembly which is formed from modular sections which include a number of different components all of which must be separately assembled to form the cable tray. For example, the cable tray includes separate straight sections, horizontal bend sections, horizontal tee sections, horizontal cross-intersection sections, as well as splice plates to connect the various components to each other as well as supporting the assembled cable tray above the building floor. Such a cable tray assembly is, therefore, independent of the raised floor system.
One drawback of such a raised floor and cable support system is the additional labor required to assemble the various components of the separate raised floor and cable support systems. In geographic regions with particularly high labor rates, the cost of erecting such a labor intensive dual system could prove to be cost prohibitive.
Another drawback of such a system is that a manufacturer's raised floor system typically will only interrelate with and provide support for that manufacturer's cable support system. Thus, consumers are forced to retrofit or choose a less favorable system in one aspect, such as the raised floor system, over another aspect, such as the cable support system. In the alternative, independent cable support systems are procured which significantly add the overall costs because materials have to be procured for a separate independent cable support structure. These additional labor and material costs can significantly increase the overall cost of installing a complete cable support apparatus and raised floor system.
An alternative solution to supporting cable runs below a raised floor assembly is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,932 which issued on Aug. 27, 1996 to Mead (the “'932 Mead Patent”). The '932 Mead Patent features a height adjustable cable tray support system which includes a number of separate components which must be assembled to form the cable support system. Plates which support the cable tray are secured by welding or other methods to the pedestals of the existing raised floor system featured in the '932 Mead Patent. Additionally, support rods are required in the '932 Mead Patent cable tray support system, which support the cable tray on the support plates.
One disadvantage of such a system is the labor intensive nature of the installation. In particular, each support plate must be separately secured to the floor system pedestals and the support rods and cable tray sections must be installed. This combined with the cost of the material components required for such a system can add significant cost to the installation of the complete system.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for an improved cable support apparatus which utilizes a minimum number of components and is easier to adapt with and install on raised floor systems than existing systems. In addition, there is a continuing need for an improved cable support apparatus that can adapt to and interface with a wide variety of cable management systems.